Like a handful of other teams in the Big Ten, the Northwestern Wildcats are largely driven by the talent of their very deep underclassmen. However, a handful of juniors and seniors have been consistent contributors to Northwestern’s success over the years, and senior Madeleine Klichowski provides a perfect example of what leadership in and out of the pool looks like.
In her first year with the Purple and White, Madeleine immediately rose to the top of her team’s rankings in the backstroke events, finishing with season bests of 56.40 (30th) and 2:01.87 (29th) in the 100 and 200 respectively at the 2012 Big Ten Championships. Most importantly, her swims were both large time drops, chopping a massive two seconds off her previous best in-season time in the 100 back, and her 200 was almost a full four seconds faster than she had been mid-season.
Klichowski would turn in very similar performances the next year, clocking a 56.41 (37th) in the 100 back and a 2:02.58 in the 200 back (45th) at that year’s Big Ten Championships. Additionally, although it is not one of her primary events, Klichowski also clocked a lifetime best of 2:07.30 in the 200 IM to take 78th in the 200 IM. She still was one of the top finishers within Northwestern’s backstroke group, claiming the second best and third best finishes in the 100 and 200 back respectively.
In her third year with the Wildcats, Klichowski represented the team once more at the Big Ten Championships, taking 50th in the 100 back (57.22), 52nd in the 200 back (2:04.70), and 62nd in the 200 IM (2:08.13).
Aside from her achievements in the pool, Klichowski was also a fundamental figure in the Breaststroke4BreastCancer campaign, a Northwestern-born fundraising movement in its third year that has helped accumulate over $25,000 in revenue towards breast cancer research. She was also a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar for the 2013-14 school year.
With several young swimmers leading the scoring effort for the Wildcats, Klichowski can take advantage of her experience and leadership skills to spur her team on during her final championship meet. As one of only two seniors on the entire team, look for her to be at the helm of the Wildcat’s charge in Columbus.
Best Times (SCY/LCM):
50 Back: 26.73
100 Back: 56.40/1:05.34
200 Back: 2:01.87/2:20.03
200 IM: 2:07.30/2:26.47
Nickname: Mad Dog … since 5th grade. It managed to survive the transition between club teams, throughout high school, and now through four years of college.
School Major/Degree: Manufacturing and Design Engineering
Favorite Event: 200 LCM Back
Favorite Hobby/Hidden Talent: Assembling Ikea furniture: I like building things so whenever teammates are moving into a new apartment, I am the go-to girl for assembly. I also enjoy procrastinating on schoolwork by cleaning and organizing the apartment…
Favorite Movie: “Airplane!” can always make me laugh no matter how many times I have already watched it and laughter is always the best medicine.
Role Model Growing Up/ Person You’d Like to Meet: Elon Musk (founder of Tesla and SpaceX): He is an icon of sleek and functional technological advancements. I would love to have a conversation with him regarding his perspective on product development.
Favorite Food/ Pre-Race Meal: Two very different things. I’m a sucker for Chipotle and Portillo’s Cake Shakes. Before meets my mom used to always make me a baked lasagna. Now I love spaghetti squash and chicken meatballs.
At what age did you become involved with swimming? How did you get into it?
I swam in the bathtub before I could even walk and have always loved being in a pool. As I got older I was involved in multiple sports and played piano but over the years the activities whittled down to just swimming and ballet.
I remember choosing swimming over ballet when I transitioned from summer league to a year round team at age 10. Swimming came naturally to me and I loved racing. I didn’t understand the concept of “going all out and racing” during my first few meets though. One meet, my mom told me, “When you race you have to spin your arms as fast as possible and kick really hard. You want to touch the wall first”. From that meet on, I realized the fun in winning races and swimming became my main focus. There was no better sense of accomplishment and success for me then reaching the podium at a championship meet.
What is your favorite collegiate swimming memory and why?
One of my favorite memories was when Northwestern took part in ESPN Game Day. Not only was the campus alive even before we were up for morning practice, but we were able to take part in the AM activities as well. On a cold Saturday morning in October we took to the Lake Michigan beach outside our pool to swim towards the ESPN broadcast halfway across campus.
We climbed out of the water over the large rocks in the middle of the national broadcast of Game Day and proceeded to sing our best rendition of the our fight song. Not only was this event incredibly fun and filled with school pride but we became closer and stronger as a team because of it. The water was so cold that there were numerous times individuals wanted to turn back but we encouraged and pushed each other to continue the swim. For some of us, this was a huge mental boundary to overcome. Singing our fight song on TV made this all worth it!
The Breaststroke4BreastCancer is an event that has been run by the Northwestern Women’s Swimming & Diving Team for three years now, and has been extraordinarily successful in raising awareness and funds for the fight against Breast Cancer. This past fall, you spearheaded the movement, and were especially proactive in spreading cognizance of the event to other teams/organizations/individuals. Can you tell our readers a little bit about the movement and about its success during its first three years?
Breaststroke 4 Breast Cancer was started during my sophomore year by two juniors on the team, Jackie Powell and Megan Goss, as a breast cancer awareness event. As a team, we wanted to give back to the community around us that is such a great supporter of all that we do. Breast cancer was chosen as the beneficiary since it has unfortunately affected multiple individuals with close connections to our team. The event itself consists of an hour long, relay style swim-a-thon in teams. In addition to the swimming, there is a silent auction, pink bake sale, and activities for spectators on deck. Local Evanston businesses are generous supporters of B4BC and always donate goods and services to support the silent auction.
During the past three years, B4BC has donated over $25,000 to local breast cancer research. This year we succeeded in hosting over 150 swim participants across multiple community groups including athletics staff and coaches, sororities and fraternities, local age group and masters swim teams, and numerous varsity and club level sports teams. We had a mix of seasoned swimmers as well as those who jumped in the pool solely for the fun of this event. It is incredible to see the impact that this event has had in just three years as a result of the support of community members and hard work of team members. I am thankful to have been a participant, honored to have the opportunity to lead B4BC, and thrilled to see the impact that our grassroots efforts have produced thus far.
The Northwestern women have been especially successful with their recruiting in recent years, with the underclassmen creating an immediate impact at virtually every meet. As a captain this year, you have seen firsthand how this luxury has translated to success in dual meets throughout your career. How do you feel that the abundance of young talent has helped create a positive atmosphere for the Wildcats each year?
We are inspired by their performances in and out of the pool every day. Their success in the pool sparks us as a team to set and achieve high goals. The upperclassmen have all been through the transition between high school and college and know how potentially challenging it can be adjusting to new academic standards, a higher level of training, and moving away from home.
These girls have never let any of this hinder their performance; they step up every day in practice and challenge the rest of us to compete faster. Their desire to contribute to the team was evident even before they arrived on campus and has only grown since. With every new freshman on the team we gain more than just another team member but another family member. They have done nothing but benefited the team since they arrived and I am excited to see how they excel during the next few weeks.
What/who do you think has been the single most important catalyst to your swimming career?
Dennis Stonequist was my high school swim coach at Loyola Academy. He was as much a role model to me as he was my coach. He taught me how to be a leader and presented me with opportunities to practice these skills. Throughout my high school swim career he instilled confidence in me for both my swimming and leadership skills. By teaching me how fun and success can go hand in hand, I learned that I swim best when I am laughing and enjoying the moment. After my last race at high school state my senior year, Dennis’ words of encouragement and support, even in light of finishing my high school career, propelled me into my college years and have stayed with me since. Dennis will always remind me of why swimming is fun and how I fell in love with the sport.
Do you have any plans/commitments following the completion of your collegiate career?
I plan to stay at Northwestern University to earn a master’s degree in Engineering Design and Innovation beginning in the fall. I am passionate about human centered design and aim to have a career in product design and development. I love seeing the positive impact that my design work can have on users everywhere. And the best part about grad school? I will be in Evanston to cheer on my ‘Cats at all of their home meets next year.
What should we look forward to from Northwestern as a whole at this year’s Big Ten Championships?
Our team is the strongest, closest, and most supportive team I have been a part of at Northwestern. This translates directly to the pool because we act as one family in everything we do. For every single teammates’ swim or dive, we will be 110% beside that person, supporting them from the side of the pool and cheering them on. The depth our team has will help us to attack every race from the first 200 medley relay through the concluding 400 free relay. Our relays have stepped up in an enormous way so far this season and I know that they will only continue to improve. Every session of Big Tens is another chance for us to prove that we are a force to be reckoned with.